Electric oven’s heating elements are curved tubes that houses a wire. When the oven is on, electricity heats up the wire, and the heat spreads throughout the oven. Most electric ovens contain both a bake element and a broil element. Failure to heat properly, as well as bubbles and breaks in the sheath, are signs that your heating element may need to be replaced. (First make sure there isn’t a problem with the main power supply. Also, if both elements won’t light, it might be a wiring problem.)
Changing out a faulty element is really quite simple. All you need is about 20 minutes, the following items and a little know-how.
Tools & Supplies • Two clothespins, paper clips, or the like. • Phillips-head screwdriver • Nut driver (optional) • A new bake element or broil element. (Either give the hardware store's salesperson the correct model and serial number of the element you need -- it's printed on a tag located inside the oven's bottom drawer -- or bring along your old element for proper identification. If you know just what kind of heating element you need, you can order a replacement online too.)
Detach the old element. With your nut driver, loosen the two hex-head screws that hold the element to the mounting plate (if they're regular screws, just use your Phillips-head driver); the broil element may have two additional screws that attach to the ceiling of the oven.
Restore power. Flip the circuit breaker and plug that baby back in. Then celebrate your DIY dexterity by cooking up a mouth-watering tray of lasagna!